Crazy.
The more she continued to stand there, the more it appeared as though he was waiting for her to say something, so when she finally did, he responded.
"You're saying that we met at Nationals, right? You didn't travel to Atlantic City, did you?
"Nope." The young man gave a head shake. "No, that's not the point." She wasn't entirely sure, but she had the impression that he was almost showing disappointment.
"Are you from the Garden State?" She gave it another try.
"The Big Apple. Earlier than that, London" He looked at him in a peculiar manner. Now, he was much more perplexed than before.
"Which club do you belong to?" Celine rubbed her fingers through her hair to detangle the mess that it had become.
Things weren't going as smoothly as he had hoped they would. Hoped.
"There isn't a club," he said with a sigh.
"Oh, I see that you're self-reliant. That's really cool. "That is so cool," she exclaimed with a chuckle.
She broke into a reassuring smile. "Yeah, I was able to discern that. You know, you hipster types living in New York. He acknowledged the triple piercings that were located in one of her ears with a nod.
"That's right! " Once more, he laughed. "And I'm assuming that you hail from Royal County."
It's R County. Yeah. "I guess that's close enough," remarked Celine. Oh, hold on... "But how did you know that?"
She gave him a shocked look before pointing to the emblem that was on his sweatpants.
"Because I am able to read," she replied.
Celine gritted her teeth and tried her best to smile. "Duh." You are a complete moron, Manor.
There was a buzzing sound.
He shrugged his shoulders while holding out his collection of swords. "I had better get moving, because the sign-up desk is about to close without me."
"You better."
She was getting ready to leave but halted briefly. "Are you serious? You have no idea who I am?"
Oh, God, how I wish I had it! And I would like to.
She put on the act of thinking. "Of course, I do. My best guess is that it was driver's education. That sums it up nicely. It's likely that we were in the same driver's education class together.
"I don't drive. However, continue your efforts," she advised, drawing her blades closer to her chest. "I must leave right now."
"I will. That is, continue your efforts. And good luck," Celine remarked.
"You too." He nodded.
"Yeah, it's probably a little late for that," the speaker said. Celine pointed to the tattered T-shirt she was wearing as well as the jacket that was wrapped around her waist. Because she wasn't wearing her protective gear, it could only mean one of two things for a fencer: either that they had been disqualified or that they weren't even competing.
"Are you not going to fence?" A glimmer of darkness passed across her features. "Are you hurt, or is there anything else wrong?"
"Only my pride," Celine said.
"Hello, my name is Mr. Black Dice. It's become something of a habit for me."
Her eyes expanded. "Ah. I believe that I observed that take place. I've never had one."
"I've never not." "Really?"
"No."
He let out a laugh.
He then concluded by saying, "So, sure, see you around."
"I'll see you around, Celine," someone said. She gave him a grin as he turned to leave.
Don't leave. To return to: Crap. Manor, you are terrible at this.
Dennis is not going to let you forget what you did here under any circumstances.
Celine appeared to be momentarily paralyzed as she stood there. Then she turned around and yelled after her into the packed convention hall where they were both present. "Hold on—may I ask what your name is?"
He cried out "Anthony" as he walked in the opposite direction. The name is Anthony Clark. Please let me know if it triggers any memories or associations for you.
After that, he was gone, and she had the impression that he had taken all of the oxygen in the room with him when he left.
That man, Anthony Clark.
She was under the impression that she knew him, but it turned out that she had never met him in her entire life. She could only hope that she had done it.
Then, she pulled her fencing jacket away from his waist and glanced at it for a moment before putting it back on. Because it was the other way around, he was unable to understand a single word that was written on it.
And despite everything, he was able to recall her name.